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China

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Marshall Islands

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Europe

Maldives

EU Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis speaks March 16, 2023, in Brussels.

Economics

Politics

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: The U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Summit, China-Japan-South Korea Talks

Snapshots

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at the opening ceremony of the International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation that commemorated the 20th anniversary of trilateral cooperation among China, South Korea and Japan, in Beijing, China, on May 10, 2019. 

Military & Security

A trilateral summit may increase economic cooperation between China, Japan and South Korea, but their security interests continue to diverge.

China, Japan and South Korea Will Resume Trilateral Talks, but Diplomatic Hurdles Remain

U.S.-China Relations

Uzbekistan

Tajikistan

Turkmenistan

Kazakhstan

Russia

Kyrgyzstan

U.S. President Joe Biden (C) and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (3R) participate in a meeting of the C5+1 with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdymukhamedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in New York City on Sept. 19, 2023. 

The United States is set to modestly increase engagement with Central Asia, but constraints will prevent a significant upgrade in ties.

Biden's Central Asia Meeting Demonstrates the Region's Growing Importance

Columns

On Geopolitics

Sub-Saharan Africa

Turkey

Taiwan

North Macedonia

Ukraine

Georgia

Belarus

India

An old map labels African countries and regions by their colonial names.

Shifting national identities have always led nations to adopt new names, and in this evolving multipolar world, modern states are no different.

National Identify and the Geopolitics of Choosing a Name

Indonesia

Malaysia

Rare earth elements. Malaysia's recently announced plan to ban exports of rare earth elements is the latest example of the deepening regional trend of resource nationalism.

Malaysia's move will negatively impact its international partners in the sector, but give Malaysia a strategic advantage in the marketplace.

With a Rare Earth Ban, Malaysia Is Poised to Join the Regional Resource Nationalism Trend

Israel

Saudi Arabia

A door at the U.N. headquarters Sept. 15, 2023, in New York ahead of the 78th session of the General Assembly. The 78th U.N. General Assembly will occur Sept. 18-26 against a backdrop of deepening global divisions.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: The U.N. General Assembly, Zelensky's U.S. Visit

Delegates attend the closing ceremony of the Chinese Communist Party's 20th Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on Oct. 22, 2022.

Policy mismanagement could cause a prolonged period of depressed interest rates and deflation, which would hurt China's domestic stability and rock the boat in international markets.

China's Great Economic Rebalancing, Part 3: Considering Failure

A truck drives between shipping containers at Nanjing port in China's eastern Jiangsu province on Aug. 6, 2023.

China's economic rebalancing is risky, but several short- and long-term policy options may help ease the transition.

China's Great Economic Rebalancing, Part 2: Potential Solutions

Boats travel on the Huangpu River against the skyline of Shanghai, China, on Aug. 28, 2020.

Slowing economic growth in China is symptomatic of a broader strategic rebalancing away from overinvestment in the real estate sector.

China's Great Economic Rebalancing, Part 1: The Problems

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

Laos

Myanmar

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

Vietnam

Regional leaders pose for a group photo before the ASEAN-Australia summit, held as part of the 43rd ASEAN summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 7, 2023. From left to right stand the Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand's Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indonesia's President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Brunei's Prime Minister Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

ASEAN's most recent summit underscored chronic passivity within the bloc that will only worsen in 2024. 

Amid ASEAN's Inaction, the Block's Members Look to External Partners for Security

A worker decorates a G20 installation on the eve of the two-day G20 summit in New Delhi on September 8, 2023.

With the G20 summit taking place in India this weekend, many of the organization's growing problems come to the fore as the shifting world order limits economic and geopolitical cooperation.

Forged Twice in Crisis, the G20 May Not Be Ready To Keep Up With a Changing Global Order

A computer-generated image released by the European Space Agency (ESA) in April 2008 shows trackable objects in orbit around Earth. 

Environment, Science & Technology

Earthbound rivalries will impede cooperation in removing the growing amount of debris in low orbit, raising the risk of collisions with spacecraft and satellites.

Reassessing the Risk of Space Debris Amid the Great Power Competition

Taiwan's Defense Ministry claimed on Sept. 24 that China was conducting military drills around Dacheng Bay in Fujian province (across the Taiwan Strait from Taiwan), the Taipei Times reported the next day. 

China, Taiwan: Competing Deterrence Strategies Heighten Uncertainty Over War

Kenya

Haiti

In a speech at the U.N. General Assembly, Kenyan President William Ruto called on the U.N. Security Council to formally back a security support mission to Haiti, Reuters reported on Sept. 21.

Haiti: Kenyan President Calls U.N. to Approve Security Deployment to Haiti

Laos' public and publicly guaranteed debt stands at 123% of gross domestic product per the International Monetary Fund, Nikkei Asia reported on Sept. 22.

Laos: Critical Debt Level Drives Loss of Sovereignty Fears

Syria

Syrian President Bashar al Assad will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Hangzhou, China, during the Asian Games, AP reported on Sept. 21.

Syria, China: Assad Visits China in Search of Reconstruction Aid

The People's Daily, the premier newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, published a front page article on Sept. 20 in which President Xi Jinping proclaimed that the United States and China "should and must achieve mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation."

China, U.S.: Xi Jinping Signals Interest in U.S.-China Cooperation

Germany

The German government is drafting a new plan to impose further restrictions on telecommunication networks' use of Chinese equipment, Politico reported on Sept. 20, citing a government strategy paper.

Germany: Governments Plans to Phase Out Chinese Vendors From Telecom Networks

A Chinese investigation found that former Foreign Minister Qin Gang had an extramarital affair and fathered an illegitimate child in the United States while he was China's ambassador to Washington from July 2021 to January 2023, according to Wall Street Journal sources on Sept. 19.

China: Qin Gang's U.S. Affair Suggests Information Opacity, Not Political Factions

China, Japan and South Korea will hold trilateral talks on Sept. 26, Yonhap News Agency reported on Sept. 19.

China, Japan, South Korea: Northeast Asian Neighbors to Hold Trilateral Talks

Afghanistan

Algeria

Antigua and Barbuda

Luxembourg

South Sudan

A view of the Register in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Angola

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Bahrain

Lithuania

Covering an area that spans the entire width of the continent beginning at the Sahara Desert and ending at the southernmost tip of South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to countless cultures, languages, religions, plants, animals and natural resources.

Barbados

Benin

Egypt

Malta

Belize

Botswana

Iran

Bhutan

Bolivia

Burkina Faso

Iraq

The President palace in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

The administrative center of the Gakh region of Azerbaijan, located at the foot of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, on the river Kurhumchai.

Brazil

Burundi

Finland

Nepal

Cameroon

Canada

Jordan

Pakistan

Mir Castle in the Minsk region of Belarus.

Cabo Verde

Chile

Federated States of Micronesia

Kuwait

Liechtenstein

Sri Lanka

Central African Republic

Colombia

Fiji

Latvia

Lebanon

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Chad

Costa Rica

Libya

Comoros

Cuba

Czech Republic

A horse grazes in front of Kara-Kul lake in the Chon-Ak-Suu valley, 300 kilometers southeast of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

Morocco

Cote d'Ivoire

Denmark

Dominica

Kiribati

Moldova

Oman

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Dominican Republic

Palestinian Territories

Djibouti

Ecuador

Holy See (Vatican City)

Qatar

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Greece

Eritrea

France

Grenada

Mongolia

<p>China is situated on the eastern third of the Eurasian landmass, between Russia, mainland Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. Its more than 9,000 mile-long coastline abuts the Yellow, East and South China Seas. China is a country of deep geographic divisions. Most fundamental is the split between its fertile eastern lowlands and the arid, sparsely populated highlands that enclose the lowlands like a shell. More than a billion people live in the ethnic Han Chinese core, making it one of the most densely populated places on Earth. Traditionally, threats to China&#39;s Han core originated in the borderlands. To guard against overland invasion, successive Chinese rulers have sought to push the Core&#39;s borders outward &mdash;integrating these highlands as strategic &quot;buffer&quot; zones. These zones form a shield, protecting and containing the core. To be secure, China must control the buffer regions. But maintaining control of the regions, in turn, requires a strong and united core. And that means overcoming immense internal divisions &mdash; not only between northern and southern regions orbiting the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, but also between smaller regional units, each with their own geography, history, dialect and interests. Chinese history is defined by cycles of unity and fragmentation, from periods when a strong Han core captures and holds the surrounding buffers to those when a weak core breaks into its constituent parts, loses internal coherence and cedes control of the borderlands. This pattern, rooted in China&#39;s geography, has played out with remarkable consistency. By comparison, China&#39;s maritime interests have remained mostly limited to coastal waters. Today, however, growing international trade and rising Chinese reliance on overseas resources threaten to alter the pattern, adding a new maritime dimension to the struggle for buffer space &mdash; and potentially upending the long-standing dynamics of China&#39;s geographic challenge.</p>

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SITUATION REPORTS

China, Taiwan: Competing Deterrence Strategies Heighten Uncertainty Over War

Haiti: Kenyan President Calls U.N. to Approve Security Deployment to Haiti

Laos: Critical Debt Level Drives Loss of Sovereignty Fears

Syria, China: Assad Visits China in Search of Reconstruction Aid

China, U.S.: Xi Jinping Signals Interest in U.S.-China Cooperation

Germany: Governments Plans to Phase Out Chinese Vendors From Telecom Networks

China: Qin Gang's U.S. Affair Suggests Information Opacity, Not Political Factions

China, Japan, South Korea: Northeast Asian Neighbors to Hold Trilateral Talks

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